Blogpost 21/2024 In February, the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) rejected a motion regarding electoral thresholds in EU electoral law, finally allowing for the necessary national approval of Council Decision 2018/994. This Decision intends to amend the European Electoral act and, according to Article 223 (1) TFEU, must be approved by all Member States. Up until now, the court had held that thresholds in European elections were not compatible with German constitutional law. However, a draft legislative act proposes that some Member States would be obliged to esta ..read more

Blogpost 9/2024 On 12 December 2023, Hungary passed a bill for the defence of national sovereignty which reportedly provides ‘the executive with even more opportunity to silence and stigmatise independent voices and opponents.’ On 1 February 2024, Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection Office is going to start operating. The Hungarian Sovereignty Bill constitutes another harmful attack on pluralism and democracy. It has been heavily criticised not only by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights but also by countless NGOs such as the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the European Civic Forum ..read more

Blogpost 7/2024 In December 2023, the European Commission published its first review of the Regulation (EU) 2019/788 on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI Regulation). The 2023 ECI Review Report reveals some very positive developments on the ECI process since the entry into force of the Regulation in January 2020: the support of proposed initiatives has been doubled and the refusal of registration has been minimized. Furthermore, out of the 10 initiatives that successfully passed the threshold of one million statements of support since the beginning of functioning of the ECI process in 201 ..read more

Blogpost 53/2023 An asset with a ‘dual-use’ nature is relatively simple in theory – it is an asset that inherently has the potential for both civilian and military applications simultaneously. Nowhere is this a more prominent feature than in the space industry, within which the vast majority of assets could be said to possess such a ‘dual-use’ nature. In the context of the EU’s quest to better regulate and stimulate the European space industry in the face of pressing external (and internal) concerns and competition, however, this may result in many legal difficulties. The Lisbon Treaty is rela ..read more

Blogpost 42/2023 In Case C‑873/19 Deutsche Umwelthilfe, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice interpreted Article 9 (3) of the Aarhus Convention so as to provide access to justice before national courts for environmental organizations challenging approval of cars fitted with defeat devices. The case is particularly noteworthy for the way the Court approaches the legal effects of international law in the EU’s legal order and the fairly receptive interpretation of the Aarhus Convention (even though it reiterated its stance that Article 9 (3) does not have direct effect). It is also an import ..read more

Blogpost 41/2023 On Sunday, Poland held the ‘most consequential elections since 1989’. Arguably, these elections did not only decide on the next Polish government. Rather, the elections also appeared to be a possibly final vote on European values, and whether the Polish government adheres to them. While at the time of writing, it seems like the opposition led by Donald Tusk can declare victory, the European Union will pay a close look not only at the elections but also at their aftermath. This is because, as many authors have described in detail (see for example here and here), the PiS governm ..read more

Blogpost 40/2023 “The obligation to observe the law takes precedence over the strict terms of the written law. Whenever required in the interests of judicial protection, the Court is prepared to correct or complete rules which limit its powers in the name of the principle which defines its mission”. Advocate General F. Mancini in Case 294/93 Les Verts In memory of the late Professor John Usher Faced with the unprecedented and persistent backlash against its own authority coming from Poland, the Court of Justice finds itself in a delicate position: it is trapped between what is now clearly a co ..read more

Blogpost 36/2023 WS v Frontex, case T-600/21, decided by the General Court on the 6th of September 2023, concerns a number of Syrian nationals who arrived in 2016 on the Greek island of Milos with the intention of claiming asylum. They made this intention clear but just a few days after they arrived they were put on a plane which took them to Turkey.  They had no idea they were being taken there until they arrived. There followed a period in a Turkish reception centre and other locations and ultimately a journey to Iraq, because they were afraid that the Turkish authorities would return t ..read more

Blogpost 33/2023 In 2021, while addressing the European Parliament during her State of the Union address, the Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, referred to the dangers faced by journalists, concluding that “[i]nformation is a public good. We must protect those who create transparency, the journalists.” At that point, almost four years had passed since the murder of the Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and the European Union had yet to take any measures to address this issue. It would be for another year before the Commission would publish its proposal for a re ..read more

Blogpost 27/2023 Over the past years, backsliding EU member states have caused increasing concerns. For almost a decade, EU institutions have concentrated most of their efforts on defending the rule of law against attacks from member states. On 8th June, however, the European Commission seems to have broadened the scope of value enforcement. In a Press Release, the Commission has announced its most recent infringement action against Poland. This time the focus is not on reforms which undermine the independence of the judiciary and thereby violate an essential component of the rule of law. This ..read more